Mount Property Group has completed the site purchase of one of Liverpool’s largest student development schemes, in one of the most iconic locations in the city. The old National Express station, which closed in January 2016 after 20 years at the foot of Islington, is passed by tens of thousands of cars coming in and out of the city centre via this root on a daily basis. But now the old site will see two student towers built, with one being possibly one of the tallest student towers in the city.
The £45m GDV development will see two blocks of 16 storeys and 10 storeys built containing a total of 566 units. Comprising of 472 clusters and 92 studio units. The site will tower over drivers and be part of a new “gateway” to the city as more schemes pop up along Islington.
Anwyl, North Wales’s largest private house builder, sold the site to Liverpool based Mount Property Group for an undisclosed fee last month. The Liverpool firm is hoping to start work this September on the project, destined for the National Express centre bounded by Norton Street, Islington and Fraser Street. The blocks will contain a number of key services such as laundry rooms, meeting rooms, study rooms and gyms with work due to be completed in time for the 2020 student intake.
So far Mount Property, who only early this month announced another student scheme on Devon Street in Liverpool city centre for 124 units, have appointed Falconer Chester Hall as architects. No contractor has of yet been appointed.
The working project title for the scheme is “Natex” and this offers a variety of accommodation units, from cluster bedrooms to studios, offering choice for post graduate and older students, at a variety of price points.
A spokesperson of Mount Property Group said:
“This is an exciting time for the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter and also Mount Property Group. The Liverpool city centre population has doubled in the past decade, due in large part to the huge increase in student numbers and the appeal of living in the city centre. Official figures published in 2016 showed that over two thirds of Liverpool’s city centre population were between the ages of 17 and 29. An enormous number of these are students. The expansion of the Knowledge Quarter is expected to be a major draw for international students with The University of Liverpool already having over 34% international students compared to a UK average of 25%. We want to offer both local and international students first class accommodation in a location ideal for them.”